If you want to take a photo that’s properly exposed, look no further than the exposure compensation button, usually on the top right portion of DSLR cameras. As with most features of my camera, it took me longer than the average person to even realize such a control existed, let alone learn what the heck the control did. But once it clicked (no pun intended), I became addicted. Now there’s no going back. Now I use the exposure compensation control anytime I take photos, whether it’s in my kitchen or around the ranch.

I’ll try to make this explanation brief, and before I begin I need to refer you to the What the Heck is an Aperture? series on this site. If you have not read it, I’d recommend spending a little time reading the first three or four posts (begin at the bottom of the list and work your way up), particularly if you haven’t yet gotten comfortable with the whole subject of Exposure:

* Photography is all about light, and properly exposing an image has to do with letting just the right amount of light into the camera.
* The wider the aperture opening, the more light will enter the camera.
* The smaller the aperture opening, the less light will enter the camera.
* The slower the shutter speed, the more light will enter the camera.
* The faster the shutter speed, the less light will enter the camera.
* The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive your camera will be to light.
* The lower the ISO setting, the less sensitive your camera will be to light.

And when you set out to take the perfect photo, you balance all of the above to attain the perfect exposure, i.e. just the right amount of light. All of the factors are important, and you need to understand them in order to achieve the results you want.

BUT.

But.

How come no one ever told us about exposure compensation? They’ve been withholding information from us, my friends, and it’s time for us to stand up!

I haven’t yet figured out who “they” are. But I’ll get back with you when I figure it out.

In another very small nutshell: The exposure compensation control is represented by a plus sign (+) and a minus sign (-), and it lets you to adjust the exposure measured by your camera’s light meter. You can dial up or dial down, and it usually goes from +2 to -2 in third-stop steps. So basically what this means is, you can set your camera to aperture priority or shutter priority or even auto. Then, from photo to photo, rather than adjust the aperture or the shutter speed or the ISO setting to achieve the best exposure, you just dial up or down the exposure compensation as needed.

I now use the exposure compensation dial as my primary means of adjusting the exposure of a photo. For example, when I shoot a recipe, I put my camera on Aperture Priority (where it remains 99% of the time) and set my ISO at around 500 (which is what I’ve found works best in my kitchen.) Then the only control I touch as I’m shooting the recipe is the exposure compensation, dialing to the plus side if one photo needs more light and dialing to the minus side if a photo needs less light. It’s absolutely, positively revolutionary and has improved my results—no question about it.

“But if you set the Aperture Priority and the ISO, why wouldn’t each and every photo yield perfect results?” you might ask. The answer is simple: light meters are imperfect. There are many situations in which the light meter on (in) your camera simply gets “tricked” and doesn’t yield the most accurate reading—if the subject has lots of bright light around it, for example. In the case of shooting a recipe, I’ve found that the most menacing subjects are those that are dark in color—a dark grey saucepan full of chocolate sauce, for example. Without fail, my camera will want so badly to “properly expose” the dark chocolate and saucepan, and the result will be a way-too-bright photo. So now, rather than switch the camera to manual and figure out the ideal settings to get the camera to read the dark properly, I simple dial the exposure compensation to the minus side a few steps (I’ll often go down to -1 or more for a dark pan of chocolate.)

When I first snapped this photo, it was a complete mess. The camera was trying to expose for the dark chocolate, and it wound up completely blowing out the light green cutting board…and the chocolate was way too bright. So I dialed back several stops until the meter calmed down and did what it was supposed to do.

This photo had a lot of weird things going on: the dark brownie (recipe here if you’d like to try it, but leave the gelatin out of the caramel topping), the light plate, and some hot spots on the brownie itself. The original photo I tried was blown out, so I wound up dialing back until it was right.

The exposure compensation gives you complete (and SIMPLE!) control over how much or how little light to “dial in.”

If you haven’t already discovered the exposure compensation control on your DSLR camera, I highly, highly recommend you spend a few days getting to know it. It will save your bacon, it will save time, it will save headache, it will save your photos, and it will save the world.

293 Comments

Me loves the button too… It has definitely helped a amateur photographer like me to click a better pic. I have never read a article like this on Exposure Compensation. Thanks for sharing it with us and I am intimidated with the brownies… yumm.

103

Lisa K On Thursday, June 10 at 10:09 am

“They” are gonna get it when we find them. Why DIDN’T they tell us??? That little button makes all the difference. Thank you, PW!

104

Christie McGetrick On Thursday, June 10 at 10:13 am

Very good advice for a novice – I am going to pass this on to my possibly future son-in-law – because he is a photo fanatic and will be getting a new Rebel for his birthday.

jenni matthewson On Thursday, June 10 at 10:21 am

I have used this trick a little bit, but I have a hard time deciding if it is really better (okay–what I really want is EASIER) that shooting manual. I have been shooting only manual for so long that it comes pretty easy and quick. I suppose I just need to get used to it–maybe commit to using it for a month. Great post!

I use shutter and aperture priorities with exposure compensation all the time and very rarely use manual.

Using that button doesn’t exactly qualify as exposure compensation when you use it in manual — it’s how you change your aperture setting. In manual you are free to change shutter and aperture setting, and you use the dial to change the shutter, and the dial together with the +/- button to change the aperture.

I am off to give this a try. Never had it explained to me where it made sense. THANK YOU!!!!

120

Jenny On Thursday, June 10 at 10:32 am

You read my mind posting this info! I’m trying to decide what kind of camera would be best to invest in and have been checking books out at the library trying to learn more about photography. I specifically want a camera to be able to produce more of what I can see but the more buttons it just seems more daunting. I’m happy that you make it seem easier than I think.

Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve played with it before, but never really understood how it worked… (add it to the list). I’m getting a new camera for my birthday next month and can’t wait to play with it! But I was surprised that my ancient Fuji had that button and I never used it! I’ll have to revisit some of my shots and try again.
Barbarahttp://hammondart.biz

122

Emily On Thursday, June 10 at 10:41 am

I always have this problem when photography black/dark grey cats or other pets! Hmm… will try this out!

WOW – I got a new Canon Rebel T2i recently and I have had trouble finding this exposure adjustment… I am so happy you wrote about this!!! Now that you pointed me to it, I realize I have to hold the button down while adjusting the exposure control – PERFECT! I was doing most of my photography on aperture priority and then switching to manual to make that adjustment but now I don’t have to! wee! Thanks so much – by the way – I love your blog – I too am obsessed with food & photography – you seem like a kindred spirit. :)

124

Cindy On Thursday, June 10 at 10:57 am

My hubby bought me a new Sony DSLR for my “granny cam” since I’m a first-time grandma. My adorable two-week-old granddaughter is coming home for the weekend and I can’t wait to try out this technique on the many, many photos I will take of her! Thanks!

125

Tiffany On Thursday, June 10 at 10:57 am

Thank you! I just bought myself the D5000 so anything about the nikons are helpful to me! I have seen the button..read about it but had no clue what to do about it! Probably even clicked it and didn’t know what to do about it! lol

I first learned of this when I was trying to photograph a beautiful African American Worman in a very light colored suit. A professional photographer friend taught me this and it changed everything for me. Thanks for the tutorial, so many will benefit!

Thank you, thank you!!! I feel like I was left in the dark (ha ha) about exposure comp too- I recently learned about it and knew that Canon users had a button, for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why Nikon wouldn’t, that was until your post- then I realized that I do have a little +/- button, I guess I’m just a little slow on the learning curve on that feature!!!

129

Vicki B On Thursday, June 10 at 11:25 am

But….but….but…..what about those of us left behind with Point and Shoot cameras? Is there no mercy for point and shoot photos?

Thank you, Ree, this is just the advice I needed! Now I just have to figure out how it works on my camera because there are two buttons and they look a little different. I think I should go look for the manual! LOL!

k, so i’ve tinkered with it in the past, but after reading your interpretation/understanding of it here, it’s all making more sense! thanks for the simplified instruction. you are an angel!

139

Leniza On Thursday, June 10 at 12:23 pm

Wow, the universe is totally trying to tell me something. I’ve recently decided I want to learn more about photography. I’ve been playing around with my Kodak point-and-shoot and one of the few option I have in “manual” mode is Exposure Compensation. I had just googled it before coming here.

I’m not ready to invest in a DSLR (I’d like to have some idea of what I’m doing before going there) but I’d like a point-and-shoot that gives me more manual option. Any recs?

140

Amy On Thursday, June 10 at 12:29 pm

I have been using this button a lot lately as well, and it is important to understand WHY it is needed to achieve proper exposure. This is only applicable if your camera is set to evaluative mode (Canon), because this means the camera tries to average the light and dark to reach a middle grey. An easy way to remember how to use the exposure compensation button is:
Right for light subjects
Left for dark subjects
It is a difficult concept to grasp because it is kind of counterintuitive, but you are basically telling the camera, “Hey, I’m shooting a dark subject, so the photo will need to be dark,” and vice versa. Thanks Ree!

141

gigi On Thursday, June 10 at 12:32 pm

Hello!
Have you tried the AEL (Auto Exposure Lock) button? You point your camera to a lighter part of your photo, press the button and HOLD IT and then take the photo as you normally would. Voilá!

142

Jen On Thursday, June 10 at 12:43 pm

It came up in the comments a few times already but those of you (like me) who are still living in the past can use this tip too! With your P&S the exposure settings will likely be in the menu somewhere, my coolpix has the little +/- button right on it.

Hi Ree!
I just finished reading through all of your posts on aperture, shutter speed etc.(although I must have missed the part on ISO???) and I’m sooo excited to pop some new batteries into my camera and shoot some photos! I’m sure I just learned a boat load of info in twenty minutes that would have taken me hours to figure out otherwise. It nice to finally know what all these different settings are for. Now I can put my new camera (a gift from hubby) to good use!

Thanks so much!

144

Sara On Thursday, June 10 at 12:47 pm

I dont get why you wouldnt just set your camera in manual mode to the aperture and ISO you want and then just dial up or down your shutter speed to get the results you want. Seems it would be easier than trying to guess what your camera is going to meter and then adjusting +/- according to the camera’s exposure.

I just recently discovered the Exp Comp while taking photos with a friend’s camera… he’s a friend of my 14 year old daughter and HE knew all about it… how is it that I didn’t?? So I pretended like I knew and as soon as I got home, started playing around with it on my camera. :o)

153

Arielle On Thursday, June 10 at 1:22 pm

Woohooo! I never knew that lil button existed. I can’t wait to get home and try it out.

I absolutely ADORE exposure compensation! Thank you for sharing the right term. Up until now, I just called it the plus or minus thingie. (Post 60, thingie becomes a very important noun). I have found it especially important to dial down for outside shots. It deepens the blue of the sky and just gives me richer colors all around in bright light. Of course, every now and then I get confused because I can use this option on a separate screen for flash. But then, post 60 brings about a little more than usual confusion anyway. Thanks for all your photo and PS tips.

156

Sudha On Thursday, June 10 at 2:02 pm

I discovered this button on my DSLR a few months ago, and am still in the experimenting stage. Great article, by the way.

Oh my gosh! Thank you SO much for this explanation. I’ve never used/heard of that button. I’ve been going absolutely crazy trying to get the lighting/composition right for my food pics and am SO excited to play around with this feature. Yay! There is hope!!! :).

159

Pamela Renard On Thursday, June 10 at 2:15 pm

I’ve always wondered what that was on my Rebel. Now I know and I know that I’ll have lots of fun using it! Thank you so much Ree. You’re the best. =)

160

Katie B. On Thursday, June 10 at 2:16 pm

My husband and I are still trying to figure out some of the other features of our D-80, but this is the one button we’ve got down! It’s saved our pictures several times, and we love it!

You’ve taught me more in this one post than I’ve learned in my 3 photography classes so far. You’re awesome

162

Kristi On Thursday, June 10 at 2:21 pm

Saving my pennies for my DSLR. I can’t wait!

163

jojov On Thursday, June 10 at 2:29 pm

I forgot all about that little sucker. Will give it another try.

164

Joann On Thursday, June 10 at 2:36 pm

I’ve recently been taking photography classes at the community college where I work and I am learning as much from you as from my instructor (don’t let him know I said that). You give us simple, basic information that can easily be put into practice and leave out the techy stuff. After many years of a film SLR, I finally went to a digital and am loving every minute!!!!

165

lisa p On Thursday, June 10 at 2:42 pm

Nikon school last week taught me about that button. I almost ran to the front of the auditorium and kissed the instructor.

What good timing. That is the one issue, I’ve been struggling with lately… underexposure to be exact.

167

Liz T. On Thursday, June 10 at 3:07 pm

This will change my life. I will now cancel my “Nikon D60 for Dummies” book order.

168

dianna On Thursday, June 10 at 3:09 pm

Ree….THANK you!!!
I have a little Canon Powershot A540 which has the +/- button. I’ve been having regular hissies trying to shoot inside (not a flash lover – at all) and this info stopped me from pulling what’s left of my hair out! Again…thanks.

169

Lynda On Thursday, June 10 at 3:17 pm

I know basically nothing about photograph, and my camera is not really hi-tech or anything, but I HAVE SEEN that little button before. Now I will have to try it out, and after I figure it out, I’ll share that info with my friends, who have up until now been giving me tidbits of info about my camera!

Thank you Lovely Pioneer Woman! My DSLR will arrive in about 4 weeks from now. I will refer back to this post!!

xo

171

Lori On Thursday, June 10 at 3:43 pm

that is funny because i said the same thing (after i understood this feature) earlier this year. how was i making it before exposure compensation and now i can’t live w/o it!

172

Wende Barker On Thursday, June 10 at 3:46 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have fiddled with this button a few times but didn’t really understand it. Now I do!

173

Laura Taylor On Thursday, June 10 at 3:53 pm

I usually spend a lot of time reading and re-reading your tips, cuz I still don’t know how to use my DSLR, but right now I have to go make salted caramel brownies.

174

Ally White On Thursday, June 10 at 3:54 pm

Thanks for sharing this! I love all your advice, tips, and techniques. And i really love all the comedic bits thrown in Now off to try this button out….

175

Becky in VA On Thursday, June 10 at 3:54 pm

Guess what? My Canon PowerShot SX20 IS also has that feature!!! I just gave it a test and wow, thank you!!!!

176

Pearl On Thursday, June 10 at 4:15 pm

Wow, Ree, this rocks my world! I have been wondering for a YEAR what the +2 -2 thing was about but never played with it enough. And thanks for the tip on gelatin in the caramel. That sounds bizarre anyway.
Thanks!!

Tina ( Mom of 3) On Thursday, June 10 at 5:00 pm

It has also changed mine. It is amazing what reading the manual will do. I kept having all these great photos and then bam something would change and they would be incredibly overexposed. I never knew how to correctly compensate on the fly and keep the same settings I had. Now I know and now life is much much better. Kudos to you for bringing “light” to it. hehehe.

Thanks for sharing, Ree. I never really knew what that dern button did, anyway.

186

mnsmalltowngal On Thursday, June 10 at 5:29 pm

I’ve recently started playing around with the aperture and shutter speed on my camera (with the help of your tuts), and I’ve been wondering what that little +/- was. Thanks for the info- can’t wait to try it out!

187

Summer On Thursday, June 10 at 5:36 pm

Ohhhh, I was just using this little doodad on my Sony Cyber Shot the other day to take pics of the sunset…I had no idea what I was doing, only that the screen was going from light to dark and the darker gave the trees a more silloutted look and made the pinks and purples of the sunset a bit “deeper.” I am soooo going to have to try this on my Nikon D60 as well. I always knew it was there, just wasnt sure what it was for! Thanks Ree!

Well, I’ll be damned! I’ve been taking a photography class and learned how to do manual. However, it takes a bit of time so this is the perfect compromise to allow for ease yet still get the results we want–thank you!

189

Tina Waldher On Thursday, June 10 at 5:50 pm

One day, this will “click”. I’m so wanting to improve my photography, but my brain cells seemed to have fell out of my body when my twins were born.

I majored in photography in college (almost 20 years ago), but I only knew the settings by the “feel” of the camera (completely manual old Pentex K1000, best camera ever made). I didn’t use numbers, I just knew by feel and where my needle-meter fell. Now its all numbers-based, ugh! I’m lost. And of course, everything was fixed in the darkroom, by hand…with a real enlarger and stinky chemicals (sitting in my basement collecting dust). Now there is photoshop, and again, must relearn everything!

Thank you for your photography lessons. I need to find the time, and the brain-cells, to sit down and read your tutorials in-depth and practice with my camera.

190

Niteowl Nancy On Thursday, June 10 at 5:52 pm

I played around with this feature on my Nikon D90 by taking pictures of some storm clouds on a partly cloudy day. Very cool pictures!

Helpful hint: don’t forget to reset your exposure compensation back to zero for the next time you use your camera!

191

John On Thursday, June 10 at 6:06 pm

PW-

On my Canon 30D (I know you shoot Nikon, but they might have an equivalent function), you can it up so the camera automatically takes three pictures at three different compensation settings. And it will cycle through those with each press of the shutter, until you change it in the menu (or just turn off the camera).

I use it a lot when shooting in macro or landscapes off a tripod. I go into the menu and set it to take a picture at -1/3, at 0, and at +1/3. Thus the first time I realease the shutter, it snaps at image at -1/3. The next shot is at 0, the next at +1/3, the next at -1/3, etc. Thus I can set up for a shot, compose the frame, check focus and do everything else. And once all that is done, I take three slightly different photos very quickly without having to reframe or refocus or reset myself. It’s a pretty nice feature in certain cirumstances, because you never know if a slight variation in compensation will make a good picture be great.

Like I said, no idea if the Nikon can do this. But I imagine it would be very helpful as your shooting for a recipe. And if your Nikon can’t, it’s just one more reason that you should switch to Canon…

Cheers,
John

192

John On Thursday, June 10 at 6:09 pm

Oh, and if your Nikon does have that feature, and it ends up helping you as much as it helps me, I will gladly accept a batch of those brownies as an expression of your gratitude.

Wow, I feel like my head is going to explode with this information. I sorta knew what it was for, but not in a practical way to use it. You explained it so clearly. I always shoot in manual which is fine when I have the time to play with my shutter speed, but when I’m in a hurry, this would probably help. Can’t wait to get home and try it out.

On a tangent: I made the brownies and HELLO! I’m kinda nuts for anything salted caramel after eating a salted caramel cupcake at Georgetown Cupcakes last month. I just had SC cheesecake last night and WAPOW! Anyhow, yes, leave out the gelatin in the recipe. It was too sticky and hard to eat. But oh the flavor!

197

Gaye On Thursday, June 10 at 7:36 pm

Thank you Pioneer Woman I had not found that little button. And I will try it tomorrow.